Final Report Summary - BATWOMAN (Basic Acoustics Training - & Workprogram On Methodologies for Acoustics - Network)
ITN – BATWOMAN (Basic Acoustics Training - & Workprogram On Methodologies for Acoustics – Network, GA-2013- 605867): The BATWOMAN ITN aimed at providing top level PhD research training in basic and advanced acoustics for a group of 13 young scientists studying in 8 European countries. Two experienced researchers (postdoc positions) and supervisors from 8 Universities and 5 private enterprises took care that research projects were related and coordinated and that achievements and challenges had been adequately communicated within the consortium and disseminated to an interested public.
The interdisciplinary and intersectoral scientific training together with a broad range of transferable skills training courses ensured good career opportunities for the early-stage researchers in a highly diverse research field which is currently getting more and more attention and attraction. The scientific research done within the project significantly pushed the state of the art in all the branches of acoustics which have been united by BATWOMAN.
The consortium consisted of renowned public and private partners from musical acoustics, room acoustics and automotive acoustics who were ready to merge their existing knowledge, extend it jointly and complement it with insights of current sound perception research. This exploited existing synergies and overcame obvious fragmentation in research, methodology and basic as well as advanced acoustics training. Providing interdisciplinary training and joining or exchanging methodology in research had a strong impact on the skills of trained researchers as far as sound design capabilities, modelling accuracy, efficiency and applicable frequency range is concerned. Adding the understanding of human auditory perception helped to tackle the hard problem of sound quality parameters and to better understand stimulating effects on well-being and cognition of people exposed to sound, but also harmful effects, like annoyance or even deteriorating cognitive performance.
The ITN therefore provided interdisciplinary and intersectoral research training for excellence. It structured existing PhD-level training in acoustics setting up European curricula with compatible and recognised courses offered by Universities and private enterprises. Simultaneously it pushed the state of the art in vibro-acoustic modelling and in interdisciplinary design optimisation by initiating a joint research effort increasing critical mass. The complementary structure of the network will make it not to break apart after the ITN project period. It is rather expected that the methodologies used to analyse, design and optimise transport vehicles, rooms and musical instruments will grow together and will be further developed in an interdisciplinary joint effort.
General objectives of the BATWOMAN project
• To bring together early career researchers and experienced colleagues from across Europe, from across musical acoustics, room acoustics, vehicle acoustics and perception research, and from a broad range of professional backgrounds.
• To motivate and encourage early stage researchers to do advanced scientific research in one of the fields of acoustics but being aware of and successfully using and combining the methodologies of other adjacent fields of acoustics which have almost completely been ignored in the past.
• To provide high level education, training facilities and technical supervision for PhD fellows in the whole multidisciplinary field of acoustics, thus eliminating the overspecialisation potentially limiting career perspectives.
• To put a new focus of engineering acoustics on perception science by studying sound quality of full audio bandwidth sounds and how such sounds can affect cognitive performance. Similarities between the perceived sound of musical instruments, vehicles or consumer items are to be studied.
Description of the main results achieved in the BATWOMAN project:
• An excellent network with strong industrial participation has been established
• Ongoing cooperation between top universities and research centres from seven countries.
• Outstanding carrier development of all fellows.
• Publications in peer reviewed journals
• Research data and open software available to the public
•Outreach activities in all countries representedby the consortium
The project website is active and can be found here: http://www.batwoman.eu/
For further details, please contact the coordinator: Martin Wifling, Kompetenzzentrum Das Virtuelle Fahrzeug, Graz, Austria (martin.wifling@v2c2.at), or the Scientist in Charge: Prof. Wilfried Kausel, University f. Music and performing Arts, Vienna, Austria (kausel@mdw.ac.at)
The interdisciplinary and intersectoral scientific training together with a broad range of transferable skills training courses ensured good career opportunities for the early-stage researchers in a highly diverse research field which is currently getting more and more attention and attraction. The scientific research done within the project significantly pushed the state of the art in all the branches of acoustics which have been united by BATWOMAN.
The consortium consisted of renowned public and private partners from musical acoustics, room acoustics and automotive acoustics who were ready to merge their existing knowledge, extend it jointly and complement it with insights of current sound perception research. This exploited existing synergies and overcame obvious fragmentation in research, methodology and basic as well as advanced acoustics training. Providing interdisciplinary training and joining or exchanging methodology in research had a strong impact on the skills of trained researchers as far as sound design capabilities, modelling accuracy, efficiency and applicable frequency range is concerned. Adding the understanding of human auditory perception helped to tackle the hard problem of sound quality parameters and to better understand stimulating effects on well-being and cognition of people exposed to sound, but also harmful effects, like annoyance or even deteriorating cognitive performance.
The ITN therefore provided interdisciplinary and intersectoral research training for excellence. It structured existing PhD-level training in acoustics setting up European curricula with compatible and recognised courses offered by Universities and private enterprises. Simultaneously it pushed the state of the art in vibro-acoustic modelling and in interdisciplinary design optimisation by initiating a joint research effort increasing critical mass. The complementary structure of the network will make it not to break apart after the ITN project period. It is rather expected that the methodologies used to analyse, design and optimise transport vehicles, rooms and musical instruments will grow together and will be further developed in an interdisciplinary joint effort.
General objectives of the BATWOMAN project
• To bring together early career researchers and experienced colleagues from across Europe, from across musical acoustics, room acoustics, vehicle acoustics and perception research, and from a broad range of professional backgrounds.
• To motivate and encourage early stage researchers to do advanced scientific research in one of the fields of acoustics but being aware of and successfully using and combining the methodologies of other adjacent fields of acoustics which have almost completely been ignored in the past.
• To provide high level education, training facilities and technical supervision for PhD fellows in the whole multidisciplinary field of acoustics, thus eliminating the overspecialisation potentially limiting career perspectives.
• To put a new focus of engineering acoustics on perception science by studying sound quality of full audio bandwidth sounds and how such sounds can affect cognitive performance. Similarities between the perceived sound of musical instruments, vehicles or consumer items are to be studied.
Description of the main results achieved in the BATWOMAN project:
• An excellent network with strong industrial participation has been established
• Ongoing cooperation between top universities and research centres from seven countries.
• Outstanding carrier development of all fellows.
• Publications in peer reviewed journals
• Research data and open software available to the public
•Outreach activities in all countries representedby the consortium
The project website is active and can be found here: http://www.batwoman.eu/
For further details, please contact the coordinator: Martin Wifling, Kompetenzzentrum Das Virtuelle Fahrzeug, Graz, Austria (martin.wifling@v2c2.at), or the Scientist in Charge: Prof. Wilfried Kausel, University f. Music and performing Arts, Vienna, Austria (kausel@mdw.ac.at)